Here are five of the top grappling martial arts, known for their emphasis on control, submissions, and ground fighting:
1. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
- Overview: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art focused on ground fighting, submissions, and positional control. It emphasizes using technique and leverage to overcome opponents, regardless of size or strength. BJJ practitioners are known for their mastery of submissions like joint locks and chokes.
- Key Techniques: Guard, mount, back control, armbar, triangle choke, kimura.
- Competitions: BJJ is widely practiced both as a sport and for self-defense, with numerous tournaments like the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship (also known as the Mundials).
2. Wrestling (Freestyle and Greco-Roman)
- Overview: Wrestling is one of the oldest and most popular grappling arts. It involves taking opponents down, controlling them on the ground, and pinning them. While both Freestyle and Greco-Roman styles share many similarities, Greco-Roman focuses on upper-body techniques and prohibits attacks to the legs.
- Key Techniques: Takedowns, throws, pinning combinations, scrambles.
- Competitions: Wrestling is a dominant sport in the Olympics and has a strong presence in high school, college, and international sports.
3. Judo
- Overview: Judo is a Japanese martial art that focuses on throws, joint locks, and strangles. While it has a strong emphasis on standing techniques and throwing, it also includes ground grappling (ne-waza), which makes it a well-rounded art for grappling.
- Key Techniques: O-soto-gari (major outer reap), ippon seoi-nage (one-arm shoulder throw), arm locks, strangles.
- Competitions: Judo is an Olympic sport and features various weight classes, with an emphasis on throwing opponents to the ground and pinning them.
4. Sambo
- Overview: Sambo is a Russian martial art that combines elements of Judo and Wrestling. It has two primary branches: Sport Sambo (which focuses on throws and submissions) and Combat Sambo (which includes striking along with grappling techniques).
- Key Techniques: Leg locks, throws, joint manipulations, submission holds.
- Competitions: Sambo is popular in Russia and other former Soviet countries, with a strong focus on practical self-defense and combat sport competitions.
5. Catch Wrestling
- Overview: Catch wrestling, also known as “catch-as-catch-can,” is a grappling art developed in the UK and is closely tied to professional wrestling’s origins. It focuses on pins, submissions, and holds that allow for maximum control and pressure on the opponent.
- Key Techniques: Leg locks, pins, submissions, control from different positions.
- Competitions: While not as mainstream as other grappling arts, catch wrestling has seen a resurgence in recent years, especially in combat sports like mixed martial arts (MMA).
These grappling arts all offer distinct approaches to control, submissions, and ground fighting, and each is highly effective for both sport and self-defense.